“The Digital Public Library of America is inviting librarians, programmers and others to come up with mock screenshots, actual coded sites or other demos—as part of a beta sprint program.”

The Digital Public Library of America Steering Committee is delighted to announce a Beta Sprint that aims to surface innovations that could play a part in the building of a digital public library. Statements of interest must be received by June 15, 2011. Final submissions will be due by September 1, 2011.

Steering Committee Chair John Palfrey has just published a new video update on the DPLA.

Steering Committee Chair John Palfrey presents the DPLA Beta Sprint in a short.

From Nate Hill: “There’s been a lot of listserv discussion, and the Library City blog and the Library Renewal group have responded to this initiative, all helping to steer it in a way that should truly benefit our incredibly diverse public libraries and their patrons. I thought I’d take a stab here at defining what I believe would be a useful DPLA for real public libraries and real public library patrons across the USA.”

From David Rothman: “Should America’s public libraries live in a ‘big tent’ with the academic libraries, as some well-meaning people have called for? Not my favorite image, alas. Makes me think of Barnum & Bailey or life in post-Katrina shelters.”

“Partly out of concern that it may have been too narrowly constituted, the Digital Public Library of America recently expanded its steering committee to include three prominent public librarians.”

“The project to develop a Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) has become more widely publicized in the past several months, understandably accruing many different interpretations and perspectives about what it might be, what it should not be, and what it might become over time.”

“This trust conundrum is a huge issue for efforts in Europe, America, and elsewhere to build and sustain national digital libraries, including the DPLA initiative here in the U.S., which currently is getting quite a bit of press attention.”

From LibraryCity.org: “Responding to us—and others—the Digital Public Library of America has added three highly respected public librarians to what was a 14-member steering committee without any local librarians.”

“The impact of a universal public library today can be compared to that of Gutenberg’s printing press, in that it could provide an unprecedented number of people speedy access to a wealth of information.”

“According to Pamela Samuelson, professor of law and information management at the University of California, Berkeley, the issue is not whether the DPLA would serve a great purpose. The crux of the matter is that in order to make virtual books available, a digital copy of the original must first be made, which in plain language violates copyright law.”

“Unlike Google’s plan to purchase copyright from publishers, authors and libraries, DPLA, as an online extension from existing an library, seems much closer to an evolution of traditional modes of access to libraries and their material.”

“The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University announced Dec. 13, 2010, that it would host a research and planning initiative for a Digital Public Library of America.”

“The proposed Digital Public Library of America will serve as an open online collection of digitized books and texts that project leaders hope could one day incorporate every volume ever published.”

“Creation of the Digital Public Library of America would be a notable step forward in keeping with that honorable tradition of public access to knowledge.”

From David Rothman: “We need a good alternative to the ugly status quo. The DPLA has the names and foundation connections to help create one if it will clarify its purposes and goals, respect public and school libraries, improve diversity, and otherwise shape up and reinvent itself.”

“The project’s ambitious mission, recently described in a four-page memorandum, is to ‘make the cultural and scientific heritage of humanity available, free of charge, to all.”

“With the recent rejection of the Google Books settlement and the building of momentum behind the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) initiative, in incubation just across the Charles at Harvard’s Berkman Center.”

From Lucy Bernholz: “One line in this jumped out at me – ‘Meanwhile, others are chipping away at the millions of orphans [books], trying to find rights holders and to determine which books have fallen into the public domain.'”